Remembered for his highly-commercial approach to pop music, Xavier Cugat (b… Read Full Bio ↴Remembered for his highly-commercial approach to pop music, Xavier Cugat (born: Francisco De Asis Javier Cugat Mingall De Cru Y Deulofeo) made an even greater mark as one of the pioneers of Latin-American dance music. During his eight decade long career, Cugat helped to popularize the tango, the cha-cha, the mambo and the rhumba. His hits included "El Manicero" in the 1930s, "Perfida" in 1940 and the original recording of "Babalu" in 1944. Members of Cugat's band included Desi Arnaz, Miguelito Valdes, Tito Rodriguez, Luis Del Campo, Yma Sumac and his third (of four) wife, Abbe Lane. Cugat used the success of his musical career as a springboard for a movie career that included appearances in such films as Gay Madrid (1930), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Bathing Beauty (1945), Weekend At The Waldorf (1945), Holiday In Mexico (1946), On An Island With You (1948), A Date With Judy (1948), Chicago Syndicate (1955) and Desire Diabolique (1959). A native of Genoa, Spain, Cugat emigrated with his family to Cuba in 1905. Trained as a classical violinist, he played with the Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional in Havana at the age of twelve. Emigrating to the United States, sometime between 1915 and 1918, he quickly found work accompanying an opera singer. At the height of the tango craze, in 1918, Cugat joined a popular dance band, The Gigolos. His involvement with the group, however, was brief. As the popularity of the tango faded, he took a job as a cartoonist for The Los Angeles Times. Cugat returned to music in 1920, forming his own group, The Latin American Band. Although they played regularly at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and supplied the soundtracks for several musical shorts, the group had its greatest success after moving to New York and became the houseband for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Despite being criticized for their middle-of-the-road approach, Cugat remained committed to his commercial-minded sound. He later explained, "I would rather play 'Chiquita Banana' and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve". Cugat and his orchestra remained at the hotel for sixteen years. Beautiful women were consistently featured in Cugat's band. After helping Rita Hayworth to launch her career, he appeared in her film, You Were Never Lovelier. Cugat's recordings of the 1950s featured the singing of his third wife, Abbe Lane. In the mid-1960s, he featured his fourth wife, Charo, who he billed as a "folksinger". Upon his retirement in 1970, Cugat returned to Spain. He died in Barcelona on October 27, 1990. His band, which was led by Tito Puente following his retirement, continues to perform under the direction of dancer, musician and vocalist Ada Cavallo.

Misirlou
Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Desert shadows creep across purple sands.
Natives kneel in prayer by their caravans.

There, silhouetted under and eastern star,
I see my long lost blossom of shalimar

You, Misirlou, Are the moon and the sun, fairest one.

Old temple bells are calling across the sand.
We'll find our Kismet, answering love's command.

You, Misirlou, are a dream of delight in the night.

To an oasis, sprinkled by stars above,
Heaven will guide us, Allah will bless our love.

Overall Meaning

The song Misirlou by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra is a beautiful ode to love in the desert. The haunting melody sets the mood for the romantic lyrics that describe the beauty of the desert landscape and the hope for finding love. The first verse talks about how the shadows in the desert creep across the purple sands as the natives kneel in prayer by their caravans. It sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is all about the beauty and mystery of the desert. The second verse talks about the singer's long-lost love, who is a "blossom of shalimar" silhouetted under an eastern star. The chorus then comes to life as the singer addresses their love interest, Misirlou, telling them that they are the moon and the sun, the fairest one who can bring love's dream to life.

In the third verse, the old temple bells are calling across the sand, and the lovers are searching for Kismet, which means destiny or fate. They believe that Allah will bless their love and guide them to an oasis sprinkled with stars. The song ends with the chorus, speaking directly to Misirlou and reminding them that they are a dream of delight in the night.

Line by Line Meaning

Desert shadows creep across purple sands.
The shadows of the desert gradually move over the purple sand.

Natives kneel in prayer by their caravans.
The people who live here are praying on their knees beside their caravans.

There, silhouetted under an eastern star,
In the distance, under an eastern star, a silhouette can be seen.

I see my long lost blossom of shalimar
I can see my beloved whom I thought I had lost forever, the one who is most precious to me.

You, Misirlou, are the moon and the sun, fairest one.
You, Misirlou, are the most beautiful and radiant one, the sun and moon combined.

Old temple bells are calling across the sand.
The ancient temple's bells ring out over the sand, calling to us.

We'll find our Kismet, answering love's command.
We will discover the destiny we were meant to have, responding to the call of love.

You, Misirlou, are a dream of delight in the night.
You, Misirlou, are like a wonderful dream that brings happiness in the night.

To an oasis, sprinkled by stars above,
To a desert oasis, where stars sprinkle the sky above.

Heaven will guide us, Allah will bless our love.
The higher powers of the universe will guide us and bless our love, as we embark on this journey together.

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Fred Wise, Jose Pina, Milton Leeds, Nicholas Roubanis, Sidney Russell

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@MooPotPie

5y↑2

Epic orchestration!!!

@LECITIZENTEN

🐐

@elenitarodrigues7092

6y↑1

Magicccc ...!!!!

@loop66

10y↑2

Bravo, sir.

@jb007944

7y↑1

magnific

@gabequezada2066

3y↑2

I swear to god I feel like im in that 70's spiderman cartoon or an old Johnny Quest adventure..

@sardanapalos1

7y↑1

Well done.

@Nik-Metro67

51w↑1

💎💎💎💎🎧🎧🐼🐼🎧🎧💎💎💎💎💯💯🥇🥇💯💯🎁🎁💯💯🌹🌹💯💯✌✌. Η πατρότητα του τραγουδιού κατά την δημοφιλέστερη εκδοχή ανήκει στον Αλεξανδρινό καλλιτέχνη Σαγιέντ Νταρβίς (17/3/1892 – 15/9/1923), που θεωρείται ο πατέρας της σύγχρονης αιγυπτιακής μουσικής. Έχει συνθέσει 26 μιούζικαλ-οπερέτες και περισσότερα από 250 τραγουδιών και είναι ο συνθέτης του εθνικού ύμνου της Αιγύπτου....

@adidelapatru1466

11y↑4

say "what again"! I double dare you!

@euzomo

11y↑2

¿Xavier Cugat? ¿what record?

@user-cu6gf5be4t

この動画はクレバノフ・ストリングスです。

@luiz1948

7y↑1

This is Clebanoff

@MooPotPie

it is indeed.

@moncorp1

11y↑1

Wonder if Desi Arnaz played on this...

@GreenDragon11

44w

Now that will be worth knowing about!!

@guidoahsam8043

6y↑3

I shall one day hav all these womens for my wives

@leoappeal

La version de 1960 est beaucoup meilleure !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=266BRHdX1kE
Harmony, USA, LP, Cat# HL 7271, 1960, Track A3

@steveegallo3384

16w

Missirlou was first aired in Athens around 1927 by Dimitris Patrinos, a musician from Smyrni. The song refers to a Christian's love for a Muslim, a theme-taboo for that time and not only. The melody either existed before and was a familiar listening in the wider area of the Ottoman Empire, or it is a group work of Patrinos' band. The only sure thing is that Patrinos wrote the lyrics. The international journey of the song began in 1930 by the US, with the release of Orthophonic album by Greek-American Titos Dimitriadis. In 1941 another Greek-American, musician Nikos Roubani changed his tone and melody, giving him the oriental sound he is known today. Make sure he has his name as composer of the song. As no one has disputed this right, Roubani appears as a composer of Misirllos all over the world except for Greece. Immediately after the adaptation of Rubanis, the song became part of the repertoire of great swing-era orchestras such as Harry James, Woody Herman and Xavier Kughat. But the great success for Missirlou came in the early 1960s by Surf-Rock artists. At the beginning, guitarist Dick Dale, a Lebanese musician (Richard Mansour's real name), started playing a solo with a single string of guitar. He chose Missirlou to respond to the challenge. In 1963, the great The Beach Boys featured in Surfin 'USA a performance of Dale's song, making Missirlo part of the surf tradition as well as American pop culture. In 1994, Missirlou in the performance of Dick Dale came back to the fore as he was listening to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, while in 2006 he became popular as the basis for the Black Eyed Peas, Pump it. Cheers from Mexico!

@stellakonsta3332

The most beautiful woman in the world ever is the virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus christ, the mother of our God.

@stellakonsta3332

This is a Greek song written and sang by a Greek.PATRINOS

@luckyshow

@@stellakonsta3332 Originally from Egypt

@nigeldavey1043

4y↑1

For clarity this melody is well known and played throughout the Levant and all round the greater area of the eastern Mediterranean.

@stellakon2058

Everything was stolen from the Greeks , now we will rise again and justice will be done. This war world war 3 will clean the earth of all evil , the real Faith the orthodox church will reign, Amen.